A Little Cinnamon Toast
by forensicsfan
Summary: It's amazing what can transpire when you add a little spice. You might even shake things up and bring two opposing elements together into a perfectly wonderful thing.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I certainly don't profit from them.

**Author's Note:** This is a little idea that came to me - I suppose there is a bit of spoiler in here, so be forewarned.

* * *

_**Prologue:**_

"It's ironic really. She's dating Andy and he's dating Kathy." Angela reached across the table of the diner and stole one of Sweet's fries despite his silent protest that she keep her hands on her own food. She had been contemplating that thought for a while and felt compelled to share her theory with the young shrink.

Sweets' jaw dropped just a little. Even with all of his professional training and the multitude of sessions he'd had with Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan, he had missed the subtle irony of it. As the connection finally hit him like a lightning bolt, he spoke as if it was just coming to him. "Literally they're dating Andy and Kathy."

"Worse than that he's a hack of an Andy and she's a little Kathy." Angela looked over to see if Sweets was following her.

He looked perplexed. "I get Hacker. Andrew Hacker, he's a hack of an Andy, but I don't follow your reasoning with Dr. Klein." Sweets was definitely intrigued at all of the subtext that was going on that Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan had probably missed themselves.

"Klein is the German word for little." Angela smirked. "So she's literally a little Kathy." Not that Dr. Catherine Klein was unattractive, but she was no Temperance Brennan.

"Ah." Sweets leaned back in his chair and slowly mulled this one over. "They're so far in denial for their feelings for each other that they have actually sought out a partner with the names from Dr. Brennan's books." He didn't think that it was at all coincidental and pondered that maybe he ought to delay publishing his book to include a chapter or two on this development.

Angela snorted out a laugh. "Whether she wants to admit it or not, Booth _is_ Andy Lister and _she_ is Kathy Reichs. If they ever wake up and realize it, I hope they can appreciate the humor of the situation." She certainly did, even if she'd rather that her two friends were dating each other instead of a pseudo representation of each other. With any luck, they'd wake up and realize their destiny.

**_To be continued..._**


	2. Chapter 2

'Cup of Joe' was a cozy little coffee shop tucked into the neighborhood Brennan's apartment building was in. She gone past it a dozen or so times, but hadn't ever really bothered to stop in, because it seemed that she was always on the way to somewhere else. When Andrew Hacker called and asked if she wanted to have coffee a couple of weeks ago, it seemed like a perfect place to meet him - a place where she wouldn't slip up and inadvertently bring up something that Booth had eaten there. And somehow this little place had become her and Andrew's meeting place of sorts. Short little get togethers that could be strung into someone's definition of dating - not that she would necessarily call it that. Meeting for coffee a few times didn't constitute dating.

"You almost need a code book to order a cup of coffee in this place, whatever happened to just ordering a regular cup of coffee, huh?" Andrew had a twinkle in his eye as he regarded the beautiful woman sitting across the table from him. The coffee shop was a little crowded on this early Saturday morning, but not so much that you felt like you had to excuse yourself before lifted your cup for a drink. Besides, it gave him an excuse to scoot a little closer to Temperance.

"They have a menu." Brennan smirked and then shook her head as his intent became clear to her. "You were making a joke, weren't you?"

He chuckled softly. "Yes, they do, a rather extensive one at that, but I still prefer a simple cup of coffee and the company of a beautiful woman." So far all they'd had was coffee, he'd hinted at dinner or a trip to the movies, or even a concert, but he wasn't so sure that they were ever going to get beyond coffee. Of course, he had only hinted - perhaps he needed to actually do some asking.

Small talk was not her forte, but it seemed to be a good way to converse when trying to get to know someone. And since she was trying to get to know Andrew, it seemed appropriate to engage in some stimulating conversation. She took a sip of her coffee and then addressed him. "I've been working on another book." Although she wasn't going to mention that she had hit a wall of almost insurmountable writer's block that she couldn't find a way to get beyond. It seemed that despite having a rather intriguing case as the central focus, she had Kathy and Andy at an impasse personally and she wasn't sure what to do about it.

"Oh, really." He smiled at her, genuinely interested. "Any chance you'll let me in on the plot?" He really didn't know if giving away her plot would break some secret writer's code, but not only was he a big fan of her writing, he was a big fan of her.

She seemed to contemplate it for a moment and then shook her head with a smile playing across her face. "I don't like to show anyone but my editor the manuscript until it's been published." That wasn't the complete truth, she had shown her manuscripts to a few people over the years, but they were the exception.

"I bet Booth gets a preview considering that Andy Lister is patterned after him." He felt a bit of pride at the fact that he just so happened to have the same first name as her leading man even if he wasn't the inspiration.

Her brow furrowed just a bit. "I've never let Booth read a manuscript before its published, and he's not Andy Lister. The characters in my books are purely fiction." A fact that she herself was beginning to doubt more and more. Perhaps that was why her two characters were having difficulty - it sort of mirrored how she felt about where she was at with Booth.

Andrew sensed something that he wasn't so sure he wanted to tread on so he smiled instead. "Well whatever their inspiration, I thoroughly enjoy your books." He took a long sip of his coffee and looked at her appreciatively.

"They _are_ best sellers." In the back of her mind she could almost hear Booth's voice telling her that a simple thank you would have been appropriate and she seemed to inwardly acquiesce to his voice. "Thank you. I'm glad you like them." This felt more like an awkward meeting with a fan of her books than a coffee date with a man who was very attractive and charming.

There was a long silent pause in their conversation as each one of them sipped their coffee. Finally Andrew decided to take a little leap. "So, I noticed that Bon Jovi is coming to town next week and I think I can get tickets if you're interested." A concert was a real date, going to a concert together would mean that she was actually interested in him beyond whatever this semi platonic thing they had going. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy these little coffee klatches, but at some point he wanted an opportunity for a good night kiss rather than a kiss on the cheek in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Oh." She was a little taken by surprise, but she wasn't sure why. He was a man who was clearly interested in her and he wanted more than coffee. "I like Bon Jovi." She had a ridiculous fan crush on Jon Bon Jovi when she was about fourteen, something that she had confessed to Booth once when he'd worn a vintage concert t-shirt one day. She enjoyed music and Andrew was good company, yes, a concert with Andrew would be good. And then after they would have plenty to talk about.

"Well then I'll see if I can get the tickets and I'll give you a call." It felt like their little coffee date was wrapping up, especially since his coffee was nearly done and she seemed a little distracted.

"That sounds good." Brennan smiled at him. A concert might be fun and Angela _was_ always telling her that she needed to get out more and live a little. Surely this would qualify for living.

"Okay then." He smiled back.

She happened to see the time on the clock and suddenly felt a compulsion to head into the lab. She began to gather her jacket and purse. "I really should go. I have remains from bone storage that I'm behind on identifying and I really should do some catching up. Plus I need to work on my book. My editor has been asking me for the next chapter for a week, but Booth and I have had a case." She hadn't meant to bring up Booth in front of Andrew, but he was so much a part of her life, it was hard not to.

"Of course." Andrew's warm smile belied the inward sinking feeling he had that all of this wooing he was attempting to do was going to end up being a big waste of time. But on the other hand, he knew he would regret it if he didn't at least try, just in case his gut was wrong.

"But I'll be looking forward to Bon Jovi." Brennan stood and leaned over and brushed his cheek with a kiss and then breezed out the door of the coffee shop without even a smiling backward glance.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite the fact that she'd made remarkable progress on two sets of Civil War era remains, Brennan was distracted. She had gotten the distinct impression when she'd had coffee with Andrew earlier that he would have jumped at the opportunity to spend the entire day with her, but the prospect of that did nothing for her. And while logically she found him to be pleasant enough company, she had this sinking feeling that she couldn't quite identify that he wasn't what she was looking for. Despite the fact that he was charming, attractive, and very successful, she couldn't imagine satisfying her biological urges with him and perhaps that was the crux of the problem.

In fact, lately anytime she considered that she had biological urges at all, images of her partner came crashing unbidden into her thoughts.

And then there was the Bon Jovi concert that Andrew had invited her to. The idea of seeing a band that she really liked live was very attractive, but she wasn't so sure that she wanted to spend an evening with him when she found the idea of spending time with unidentified remains far more appealing. Besides, she was very wealthy and she could buy herself a ticket if she really wanted to go.

In fact, if she really wanted to go, she would much rather go with Booth because aside from her irrational inappropriate thoughts about him, spending time with him didn't seem like a laborious chore.

She let out a sigh and pulled off her latex gloves. She was the only one in the lab and she could almost hear Angela's voice telling her that she needed to get out more. The thing was, it wasn't the getting out that really seemed important, it was who she was getting out with that was. She knew that she was wasting Andrew's time and as nice as his offer was to take her to a concert, she knew that she couldn't go, not when she was beginning to realize that she had feelings for someone else that couldn't avoid forever even if she could avoid it for now - especially since he was dating Dr. Klein.

The chirp of her cell phone interrupted her thoughts. "Brennan."

* * *

"Thanks for coming, Bones." Booth looked anxious as he opened his door wide. "I wasn't sure who else to call." Of course she had been the first person he'd thought of to call, why call anyone else, when you could start with the best.

"I _am_ a scientist so it's perfectly rational that you thought of me." She smiled and shrugged off her coat as he closed the door behind her.

"But more importantly, you're a bone scientist." He drew out his words as a smile spread out across his face as Parker glanced up and saw them.

"Bones! Dad said you could help me with my science project!" Parker's grin mirrored his father's.

"I would be more than happy to consult with you on your project." She was more than ready to get to work on whatever bone-related project the younger Booth was working on.

"I don't know what that means." Parker looked slightly confused.

"It means that Bones is going to help you make sure you know all of your bones." Booth figured that since Bones had agreed to come and help him help Parker that they were just going to have to have dinner. And maybe after dinner he could gently prod her about what was going on between her and Hacker and see how long he was going to have to wait this whole thing out.

"Dad says that you know _all_ the bones." Parker looked very impressed. "That's why he calls you Bones." An impish grin spread across his face.

"I also help your dad put the bad guys in jail by looking at people's bones." There was a time that she might have launched into an overly technical description, but she'd learned from spending time with Booth that sometimes, less information was better.

"That is _so_ cool." Parker considered for a moment that maybe he could be an FBI agent and a bone doctor all at the same time when he grew up, if his plan to be a race car driver didn't work out.

"It is cool." Brennan completely agreed. "Why don't you show me what you have so far and I'll see where I can help you."

"I called in for a pizza, extra meat on the man side and extra veggies on your side, Bones." Booth smirked as he watched his son and his partner settle themselves on the couch so that Parker could show her his popcicle stick skeleton. He wondered to himself if Bones knew how amazing she was.

"This is very impressive, Parker, it's not completely anatomically correct, but a very good representation." And she really _was_ impressed as she began to quiz and correct him on the names of each bone.

Booth just stood in the doorway of the living room watching and enjoying the moment. A soft tap sounded at the door. "Looks like the pizza is here." He grabbed his wallet and headed to the door.

It was definitely _not_ the pizza man.

Had his eight-year old son and his partner not been in the other room, he might have found the sight in front of him a little more exciting. "Catherine." As it was, he was more than content with the two people who were sitting in the other room.

"Seeley." The dark-hair beauty seemed to purr as she help up a bottle of wine and loosed the sash to her jacket just enough to give a glimpse of an outfit that was most definitely not meant for any eyes but his.

Booth stuttered. "Uh, did we have a date?" He didn't recall planning on seeing the lovely Dr. Klein tonight, it was his weekend with Parker and they weren't at a place yet where he was willing to even introduce them. In fact, he'd been having second thoughts about going out with her again at all given that he couldn't help but compare her to Bones.

She looked a little disappointed. "Are you going to invite me in?" There was a slightly confused expression on her face. On the three dates they'd been on, he certainly seemed like he was interested and here she was taking a huge risk to throw herself at him and he didn't seem to be picking up on it. Perhaps she had grossly misjudged things between them.

"Uh, Catherine, this isn't a good time." He wasn't even sure that he'd mentioned that he had a son and the fact that Bones was there probably wouldn't go over too well either.

"You have company?" She quickly tightened the sash on her jacket and craned her neck a little to see if she could determine exactly who he was entertaining. Inwardly she chided herself for not calling him, but oh, no she had to go out on a limb and try and surprise him.

"I have my son for the weekend." It was as good a time as any to let that little secret out of the bag. Not that he was in any way ashamed of having a son, but he usually wanted to know that a relationship was going somewhere before he introduced Parker into the mix.

"Oh." Catherine definitely looked embarrassed. "I guess this isn't exactly meet the family attire is it?"

Booth was a little embarrassed for her, even if he could appreciate the view. "No, I guess it isn't."

"We'll just try this another time then." She quickly retreated with an awkward wave and nearly collided with the pizza delivery guy as she dashed down the stairs.

Booth was glad that the pizza guy had arrived just then and he didn't even care that he over tipped him. He was just glad that he was going to get to spend the evening with two of his favorite people. "Pizza is here, who's hungry?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** I apologize for the delay in updating this. I've been very sick the last few weeks and then after the 100th episode aired, I was a little unsure if I wanted to continue this story given how heart crushing it was (yet I'm hopeful for all that I trust Hart Hanson has in store for us). So, with that said, I hope that those of you who are still reading, enjoy where this goes.

* * *

It was way too early on a Monday morning to be be meeting Caroline Julian without the benefit of caffeine, so with a quick stop by the Jeffersonian to pick up Bones and a brief detour to the diner to pick up enough coffee for themselves and the puckish prosecutor herself, Booth ushered his partner towards his office with his best charm smile in place. Caroline had informed them by phone that she was waiting for them so they could go over a few of the finer points of an upcoming case that in her words had better be a slam dunk.

Booth did his best to make a little small talk, he hadn't seen Bones since she'd left his place late Saturday night after helping Parker with his project. "How was the rest of your weekend?" Booth hoped that she hadn't gone out with Hacker, especially after he'd had such a good time watching her and his son having a bit of a Vulcan mind meld over a fake skeleton. She'd stayed for a little while after Parker had gone to bed and they'd lingered over a glass of wine before she insisted that she needed to get going so she could be up early to work on her book.

"Productive." She offered him a smile, she still had a few things to smooth out in her chapter, but it was coming along nicely and she'd even managed to have time for a karate workout. "When does Parker present his project at school?" She had promised him that she would be there since he'd told her he was going to get the bestest grade ever because of her. She'd nearly corrected his grammar, but a raised eyebrow from Booth stopped her words short and she'd just smiled instead.

"Tuesday night. He's really looking forward to you being there." He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "I think he thinks that if his teacher isn't impressed enough with his project that he can use you for his science project."

She let out a soft laugh in spite of herself. "I'm sure he'll do fine - he knew all of the bones on the list he was given by his teacher and despite the limitations of popsicle sticks for constructing a skeleton, it was very impressive."

As they breezed into Booth's office Caroline didn't bother to stand up from where she'd settled herself in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "It's about time you two showed up." She would have kept on ranting too if Booth hadn't handed her a cup of coffee.

"I know how much you hate the coffee in the break room." His charm smile seemed to placate her for the moment.

"Don't even know how they can call that stuff coffee, a complete waste of perfectly good beans." She took a nice sip of the coffee Booth had given her. "Now this on the other hand is starting to put me in a good mood." If Caroline thought that she was going to get right into her meeting, she was sadly mistaken as a soft tap sounded at the door and a rather embarrassed brunette poked her head in.

"Oh, I'm sorry, the agent out there said you had just gotten in. He didn't mention you were in a meeting." Dr. Catherine Klein seriously was beginning to think that she had the worst timing on the planet. Apparently, attempting to surprise Seeley Booth on any level was looking like a bad choice.

"Catherine." Booth suddenly felt as if his tie was constricting his throat. This was definitely _not_ how he wanted to start his day.

She dangled a cup holder with Starbucks in it just as she noticed that he already had coffee. Yes, she really wasn't doing this well at all, so much for making a better impression than she had on Saturday night. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd bring you some coffee, but it looks like you already have some."

"Yes, I do." Booth didn't budge from where he stood at his desk and he didn't dare look at Bones or at Caroline.

As if things couldn't get any more awkward, Deputy Director Andrew Hacker seemed to have found out that Temperance was in the building and appeared in the doorway as well. "Oh, am I interrupting?" Even with his best smile, Andrew could tell that there was a little tension in the air as he stepped into Booth's office and nearly ran into a very beautiful brunette who he smiled at before he turned his attention towards the woman he was in search of. "I was hoping I could borrow Temperance for a moment."

"We're trying to have a meeting, Andrew." Brennan was a professional first and if Andrew couldn't respect that, then that was just one more reason that maybe she shouldn't go out with him again.

"Oh, sorry." He didn't look as sorry as he should have been. "I just wanted to let you know that I was able to get those tickets to Bon Jovi for Tuesday night." He felt a little bit like the nerdy kid who had managed to get the most popular girl in school to go out with him, complete with the sucker punch feeling that something was about to go very wrong.

Booth glanced over at Bones and felt a sinking feeling about how he was going to explain to Parker why she had to cancel on his science fair.

"I have plans on Tuesday. I'm sorry, I promised Parker that I'd be at his science fair." Brennan knew how important promises were, how important something like a science fair had been to her at that age. "I didn't realize that the concert was the same night." If she was honest with herself, she had been trying to compartmentalize it right out of her mind.

"Parker?" He looked momentarily confused, but then as he noticed the subtly pleased smirk spreading across Booth's face it became quite clear to him that he was never going to truly win Temperance's heart. "Oh, Booth's son."

"Yes." She didn't feel compelled to go into any further details.

"Oh." Catherine who had been quiet to this point. Surprising Seeley Booth was definitely a bad idea. One glance at the man and she just knew that things between them weren't going to get any further, no matter that she was a great catch by anyone's standards.

It was all too much for Caroline to resist barging right into now that she'd finished her good cup of coffee. "How is a United States prosecuting attorney supposed to get anything done with all of these love connection interruptions." She took one glance at the embarrassed pair standing at the door and raised a single eyebrow. "Deputy Director Hacker, why don't you just ask Dr. Klein to go see Bon Jovi so I can get our dynamic duo over here focused back on the case we have in court tomorrow morning." It wasn't a suggestion, but more of a command and since no one seemed to complain one little bit, the pair by the door seemed to disappear just as quickly as they'd come, presumably to share some extra coffee and concert tickets.

Booth wasn't sure whether to be relieved or pissed off that Caroline had seemingly taken care of both Hacker and Catherine in one felled swoop, so he decided to be relieved and scrape up the remnants of his manly pride later.

Always the task master, Caroline focused her attention on the purpose of why she'd come all the way over to the Hoover Building this early on a Monday morning and smiled one of those let's get down to business smiles at the partners. "Now, where were we?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Well that was certainly a memorable science fair." Booth smirked as he followed Bones into her apartment, thankful that she had decided to come along to see Parker present his popcicle stick skeleton project instead of going with Hacker to the Bon Jovi concert. His son had been beside himself with excitement that he had the bone doctor there to help him present his science project. Even Rebecca had thanked her, all the while giving Booth a look that spoke volumes of why she thought Bones had really come along. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part.

"Clearly the boy used a variation on the traditional baking soda and vinegar with the cola and Mentos, but I don't think that he took in the variable of how low the ceiling was." They had both been standing a little too close to avoid the fallout from the chemical reaction of a science fair volcano. And since Booth always kept a change of clothes in his SUV, it seemed completely logical for them to go back to her place and take advantage of the fact that she had two bathrooms to clean up in. That and neither one of them seemed to want to end the evening quite yet.

"Clearly." He couldn't help but smile at the way she seemed perfectly at ease despite the fact that she had goo matting her hair and her makeup was all smudged. He didn't even want to ask whether or not her blouse could be dry cleaned, but it looked ruined from where he stood. She was definitely all mussed up and sexy as hell.

"Do you think that Parker had a good time?" She had noted that the boy had done a wonderful job of reciting the bones correctly although there hadn't been nearly the crowd reaction that there had been to the volcano that had doused the crowd. She smiled at Booth - he had every reason to be proud of his son.

Booth grinned and then let out a soft chuckle. "He was covered in goo, of course he had a good time. I'm pretty sure that Rebecca wished she'd been standing somewhere else though." She had taken the brunt of the eruption quite by accident and had taken it all in stride. Of course that had meant that the plan to go out for ice cream after the science fair had been given a raincheck, given the way the evening turned out.

"She was a very good player about it though." Brennan decided that she was definitely going to have to buy a new blouse. She glanced over at Booth and realized that he was just as much of a mess as she was and she felt the corners of her mouth pulling into a smile in spite of it.

Booth caught the start of her smile and offered up one of his own. "Sport, Bones. She was a good sport." He really didn't want to talk about Rebecca right now, he wanted a nice quick shower and a change of clothes and then some of that Thai food that Bones had insisted on ordering on the drive over.

They looked at each other for a long moment and then with a smile flickering across her face, she jabbed her thumb towards her bedroom. "I'm just going to go clean up. There are towels under the sink in the guest bathroom."

"Thanks." He watched her disappear into her room and as the door clicked shut behind her, he chided himself for staring so openly and headed off to clean up as well. He wasn't really sure what was happening here, but he wasn't going to think about it too hard. It hadn't been all that long ago that he'd put his heart out there, which was how he'd ended up seeing Catherine and Bones had been seeing Hacker. He couldn't just assume that with the two of them presumably out of the picture that Bones had actually changed her mind. He was going to go out of his way to kill his hope though either.

A short while later, they were lounging on her couch devouring cartons of Thai food, both of them freshly showered and looking much less sticky than they had been before.

"Oh, I'm sorry you had to miss Bon Jovi." He felt bad that she was missing a band that she really liked, especially given the fact that he knew she'd had a teenage crush on Jon Bon Jovi, but the fact that she wasn't the one that was there with Hacker made him feel a little less bad about it.

"I'm not sorry I missed the concert. I'm just sorry that Andrew is there with Catherine." This was coming out wrong, she didn't actually want to be there with Andrew, she just thought that if Catherine made Booth happy then she wanted that for him, despite the fact that she was coming to the conclusion that she had been hasty in rejecting him herself. "I mean you seemed to really hit it off with her and I'd hate for you to jeopardize your new found relationship and an opportunity for sexual intercourse because Andrew is making a drive on her."

Booth felt his hope welling up as he set his carton of Thai down on the coffee table and turned to look at her. "It's making a move, and it wasn't going anywhere." Nothing like a little truth to help ease the awkwardness of the moment. He smiled at her. "I think she wanted it to go somewhere, but I didn't feel any spark." The fact was, Catherine wasn't Bones and even though she was beautiful and nice and funny, she was never going to be Bones. And no matter how many times she showed up at his place wearing lingerie under a trench coat or brought him cups of coffee, he realized that he just wasn't interested and he couldn't make himself pretend.

"Oh, well then perhaps she and Andrew will hit it off." She hadn't really considered the implication of admitting that out loud to Booth, but as she found herself looking into his eyes, she felt a warmth building inside of her.

"I thought you and Hacker were getting along." He hoped that things between her and Hacker had finally taken a flaming nosedive into the ground.

Brennan glanced over at him. "I don't think that I'll be seeing Andrew again socially." As charming as Andrew was, he wasn't Booth and it wasn't fair to continue seeing him when she knew things weren't going to go anywhere. She would probably have to inform Andrew of this fact, but somehow, with his people skills, she reasoned that he would already intuitively see it coming.

"Oh." He seemed a little surprised. Very pleased, but definitely surprised, or maybe it was just hopeful. She was here with him, or maybe he was here with her, the bottom line was that they were here together even though they weren't really together and maybe being together was just a matter of time.

"It seems that although the idea of seeing Bon Jovi in concert was very appealing to me, seeing them with Andrew was not." Brennan smile at Booth a bit conspiratorially. That seemed to sum things up quite nicely.

Booth felt his hope swelling eve more inside of his chest or maybe that was his ego. Either way, he found himself scooting a little closer to her. "I'll buy you one of their CDs and we can listen to it really loud. I might even dim the lights so we can raise our lighters." He had no idea if she'd pick up on his homemade concert suggestion, but it did make her smile.

"I would let you." The idea of sitting in her apartment listening to a CD with Booth sounded far more appealing than the evening that she'd turned down. "Except that I think I already have all of their CDs, so really you wouldn't need to buy one."

"Well what are we waiting for then?" No better time than the present to disturb her neighbors with a little loud rock and roll on a weeknight.

"Oh, but I don't have any lighters, so we'd have to skip that part." And maybe it wasn't such a good idea to dim the lights when he was looking so irresistible.

"Well then we'll do it another time." Booth's fingers reached out of their own volition and found a tendril of her hair that was curling up at the end as it dried. He realized what he was doing and he cleared his throat softly and reluctantly let go. "Looks like you got all of the goo out of your hair."

"Yes, the combination of ingredients in the shampoo were very effective at removing the sticky substance." Brennan held herself back from reaching out and touching his hair which appeared to be goo free as well.

Booth sensed that they were having another one of those moments, but it was up to her to make it happen if it was going to - he'd put his heart out there already. The moment passed with a slight yawn and an exchange of smiles. "I should really go. We've got court in the morning and Caroline isn't going to be pleased if either one of us nod off on the witness stand."

"Yes, court." She was surprised that it had almost slipped her mind. "So I guess I'll see you in the morning then."

"I can pick you up if you like." He knew that she'd probably go into the lab early to make sure she had her notes.

"Sure. Yes." Since when did her genius level intellect get reduced to simple one-word sentences?

He nudged her with his shoulder and smiled before he pulled himself up off of the couch. "Thanks again for helping Parker out."

She followed him to the door. "It was no trouble at all. Parker is very bright and he selected an excellent project." Of course she was a little biased about the subject matter of his project, but even she had been impressed.

Booth paused for just a moment at the door and shared another smile with her. "See you in the morning, Bones." He caught a glimpse of her smile and a wave before he closed the door behind him. His faith in eventually had been bolstered and he could wait.


	6. Chapter 6

"Temperance." Andrew's knock against her office door was soft and he looked a bit tentative as she glanced up. He was glad he'd caught her in her office, but he was nervous.

"Andrew." He certainly wasn't the person Brennan was expecting to see walking into her office. After spending the morning in court and a quick lunch at the diner, she was almost expecting Booth to stop by and remind her not to forget to take a break for dinner even though she had plenty of work that she needed to catch up on. She had hoped that she could simply turn Andrew down the next time he asked her out, but clearly that wasn't going to happen.

He held a small gift bag up and offered a smile as he walked towards her desk. "Since you weren't able to make it to the concert, I thought I'd bring you a bit of a peace offering."

She raised a brow at him in confusion. "A peace offering would imply that we were at war." She felt more than amicable towards Andrew, she was just certain that her feelings were merely platonic. Was this some sort of social construct that she was unaware of?

He let out a soft chuckle as he set the bag on her desk. "It's a concert T-shirt. I know that you said you liked Bon Jovi, and since you were unable to attend, I thought you might enjoy having a souvenir." He also felt guilty that he'd gone out of his way to get tickets only to end up taking someone else.

"Oh." She wasn't sure if she should decline his gift if keeping it implied that she was receptive to seeing him again socially. "Did you and Dr. Klein have a good time?"

A guilty look flashed across his face for just a second and he felt compelled to adjust his tie. "Yes, we did." He hadn't felt this nervous in some time. "She bought Agent Booth a shirt as well."

"Oh." If Catherine Klein was still in the mindset to be buying Booth gifts then perhaps things hadn't gone so well between her and Andrew. Clearly she was going to have to be direct. "I'm not sure if I should accept this." Brennan looked directly into Andrew's eyes as she stood up. "I don't want to give the wrong impression, but I believe that accepting this from you might imply that I have further interest in pursuing a personal relationship with you."

A slight 'deer in the headlights' expression flashed across Andrew's face.

"Was that too direct?" She felt a pang of regret only for the fact that she was sure that she'd hurt his feelings and he was a very nice man. Surely Andrew Hacker didn't deserve to be purposely hurt.

He let out a soft chuckle again. "No, that was was perfect." He seemed to stand up a bit straighter and a smile warmed his expression. "It makes all of this easier actually." He pushed the bag a bit closer to her. "I really do want you to have the shirt, if for no other reason than to apologize for hitting it off with Catherine."

She smiled as she began to realize that there were no hard feelings. "I'm glad that you and she hit it off. Will you be seeing her again."

Andrew looked nervous again. "Actually, yes, I will be seeing her again. I only hope that Agent Booth is as understanding as you are." Although he highly doubted that Booth would mind at all since it was pretty obvious that the man was in love with Temperance himself.

"I'm sure he will be. He mentioned that he didn't feel any spark with Dr. Klein." There was a strange feeling of wistfulness welling up inside of her and she didn't know if it had to do with the fact that Andrew had found Catherine or the fact that she was starting to come to grips with the fact that she hadn't wanted to be with Andrew because he wasn't Booth.

"Look, Temperance, if I may be so bold, if the only thing holding you and Booth back from seeing each other socially is the technicality of FBI regulations, there are ways around that." He let out an amused chuckle. "I should know, I'm the Deputy Director."

This was certainly a variable that she hadn't anticipated, but she was also sure that Booth wouldn't appreciate it if she were to discuss what might or might not be between them with his boss. "Thank you for the T-shirt." Her smile was genuine. "I'm glad that you and Dr. Klein will be seeing each other again."

Andrew seemed pleased with the way things had gone. "I can see that you have alot of work to do."

"Yes, I do." She really didn't seem any reason to go into detail since she presumed that he was looking for a way to wrap up the conversation in a socially acceptable manner.

"Then I'll be seeing you around." He offered a friendly wave and let himself out of her office.

* * *

"I know that you like vintage concert shirts, and while this isn't vintage, I thought you might like it." Catherine smiled at Booth as she explained the shirt she'd brought him. As fate would have it, she'd finally found him alone and in his office late in the day.

Booth didn't want to be rude, but he also didn't want to lead her on any further either as he looked at the Bon Jovi T-shirt that she'd brought him and then set it on his desk. "Uh, thanks." He cleared his throat and rest his hand on his hip as he considered how he was going to break up with her. "Did you and Hacker have a good time?"

"We did." She didn't hesitate to answer and a tentative smile twitched the corners of her mouth. "Perhaps too good of a time." She let out a breath and offered him an apologetic smile before she continued. "Things between you and I weren't going to go anywhere, were they?"

He shook his head and returned her smile. "I guess not." This was far easier than he'd imagined it could be, but he still felt badly that he'd essentially led her on, but then again, maybe it had just opened his eyes a little more to how hard moving on from Bones could be.

"I can tell that you care deeply about your partner, Seeley. I just hope that she realizes how lucky she is." Catherine was genuinely happy with the way things were turning out. She wasn't about to be someone's second best, and quite by accident she'd found a man who she thought she just might have a future with in Andrew Hacker.

"If it helps, I really do think that you're a wonderful person, Catherine." He felt almost guilty that he was happy that she was dumping him instead of the other way around.

"But your heart belongs to her, whether she realizes it or not." Her smile warmed again and she raised her hand in a brief wave. "Enjoy the shirt." And with that, she was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** I apologize for not updating sooner. I've been fighting off a nasty bug for the last month or so and it is very slowly getting better, but isn't leaving me with much energy. So I'll continue to update, but it may not happen quickly. Thanks for sticking with the story, I really appreciate it.

* * *

It wasn't like her to show up at her partner's door late at night with her arms full of Chinese takeout - that was something he usually did to her, but here Brennan was at nearly ten-thirty at night tapping softly on Booth's door. For a fraction of a second she reconsidered her decision to come unannounced, at least until he answered the door.

"Bones." He was pleasantly surprised to see her and he opened the door to let her in. He looked relaxed in a fade t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and of course his signature wild socks.

The sight of a small pair of sneakers on the floor next to the couch had Brennan once again wondering if her impromptu visit was a good idea and she looked over at Booth who had just shut the door. "Parker's here?" Not that she was exactly sure why she was there in the first place - any explanation she could come up with was completely irrational, and yet there she was.

"Yep. Rebecca had a last minute early morning meeting, so she needed me to drop him off at school, and I convinced her to let me have him for the night too." He took the bags from her and plopped them down on the coffee table. "He's asleep. You want a beer?" Booth was more than happy to have a little extra time with his son.

"Sure." A beer sounded really good right now, perhaps it would help quell her irrational feelings or maybe give her the courage to act upon them. She wasn't really sure which one she wanted, but at least a beer would lease her a little more time.

Booth returned a few moments later with a fresh beer for himself and one for Bones. He sank down onto the couch next to her and set the beer on the table, glancing over at her and wondering what had prompted her to come over so late.

She had already pulled the cartons out of the bag. "Andrew bought me a concert t-shirt." She popped a bite of veggie lo mein into her mouth as she glanced over to find him looking at her thoughtfully. "I made it clear to him that I didn't want to see him socially any longer."

He let out an amused chuckle. "Catherine bought me a shirt too. Looks like we both got the parting gifts." He also wondered if the shirts were part of some two for one special to help Hacker and Catherine feel less guilty about the fact that they'd hit it off with each other when they were supposed to be dating other people.

"I don't know what that means." She had an inkling that it had something to do with the shirts being in second place, but she wasn't sure.

"It's an expression, Bones." He couldn't help but smile at her and he was perfectly fine with just getting the t-shirt. "She broke up with me." If Catherine hadn't broken up with him, he would have had to break up with her - it just wasn't going anywhere.

"Oh." Brennan offered a soft smile. "It appears that the parting gifts were the better end of the deal." She didn't want Andrew and she knew that Booth didn't want Catherine. That of course didn't answer her inner nagging question which had brought her to his door in the first place.

"At least her and Hacker hit it off." That meant that there was one less man out there that Booth needed to worry about going after Bones. They ate in silence for a few moments and from the occasional glance over at her, he could tell that she had something on her mind.

She didn't leave him wondering for long. Her words came out in a rush as she looked at Booth with wide eyes. "Andrew said that if the only reason you and I weren't seeing each other was because of the prohibitions on agents fraternizing with consultants that there were ways around it."

The bite that Booth had been about to take stopped midway to his mouth and then slowly dropped back into the carton. He wasn't sure if he was hearing her correctly, but he didn't stop looking at her.

Another rush of words came tumbling out of her mouth. "It's certainly possible that you've moved on, you said that you needed to, and I wouldn't hold it against you if you have." Brennan blinked at him. The swirling emotions she felt just then were overwhelming her and she thought that maybe she'd made a mistake coming her like this. She hadn't exactly been clear to him about what she wanted.

Booth found his voice. "Are you saying that you've changed your mind?" He didn't want to sound too hopeful, maybe this was all just a dream that he was having after falling asleep on his couch. He didn't want to assume he'd heard what he hoped he heard.

She continued, looking at him and hoping for a sign that she wasn't being a complete fool. "As irrational as it sounds, I believe I have. That is, if you haven't moved on." She felt an inner panic that her heart was about to be crushed.

A smile pulled the corners of his lips upward and he couldn't believe how controlled he felt just then. "I can't move on, Bones. I'm not sure why I even thought I could."

There was a slight waver to her voice as his words sunk in. "So we can try us?" She felt like she was holding not just her breath, but her heartbeat as well.

"Oh, yes." All restraint he'd had burst and he pulled her too him and pressed his lips against hers. The food was completely forgotten.

Her heart was beating furiously in her chest as she eagerly returned Booth's kiss. Why had she settled for second best with Andrew when she could have had Booth to begin with? Her fingers tugged at the front of his t-shirt as she leaned back into the couch - she wanted more of him, more of this. There was so much lost time to make up for.

It wasn't until his t-shirt had been wrestled off and he'd gotten her blouse mostly unbuttoned and they were still kissing madly and groping each other that he happened to catch Parker's shoe out of the corner of his eye. He inwardly cursed himself a few times before one of the words escape. "Shit."

"What?" That was certainly not what Brennan wanted to hear when she was hoping that he was going to show her that the laws of physics could in fact be broken. Her fingers pulled insistently at the nape of his neck to try and bring his lips back to hers. What could he possibly be thinking about to stop now?

Booth was breathing heavily as he kissed her deeply and then pulled back once more. "Parker's here." It made a difference to him. As much as he wanted Bones right now, he didn't want to have to explain to him why Bones was in Daddy's bed and what that all meant. No, he wanted spend the night with her for the first time when he didn't have to worry about midnight glasses of water or bad dreams that needed comforting.

"Oh. Yes. I forgot." She wasn't sure what the rules were about having intercourse with a child in the next room, but if married couples managed it, she was sure that it was okay under some circumstances. She looked at Booth expectantly.

He wasn't sure she really understood. "I don't want our first time together to be interrupted because we've woken Parker up." He didn't care if they woke up the neighbors, in fact he _hoped_ they woke up the neighbors if it meant that the whole world would know that he and Bones were finally together. Unfortunately, that just wasn't going to be tonight.

A conspiratorial smile flickered across her face as she began to button up her blouse. "And we certainly wouldn't want any interruptions." This was probably for the best because she was sure that once she and Booth found their way into bed, they weren't going to be getting out of it for a while.

"No, we wouldn't." He smiled at her and resisted kissing her again.

"I should go then." If she stayed there was no way that they weren't ending up in bed. She could wait, it had taken her this long to figure out that she really did want to be with him, a little more time wouldn't hurt. She pulled herself off of the couch and smoothed her blouse down.

"I'll see you tomorrow." As she opened the door to leave Booth couldn't resist pulling her against him again and giving her one more kiss before she left.

"Tomorrow." Brennan couldn't wipe the smile off of her face as she turned to leave. She couldn't wait until tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

"Oooh, Sweetie, did Andrew send you flowers?" Angela's eyes honed right in on the arrangement of red tulips on Brennan's desk as she walked into her friends' office. Whatever other reason she had for going in there was temporarily forgotten - red tulips were a declaration of love whether her friend knew it or not.

Brennan didn't even glance up as she shook her head. "No. Andrew and I won't be seeing each other any more."

"Oh, Sweetie, I'm sorry." Not that she really _was_ sorry, she was just very glad that Andrew Hacker wasn't in the picture any more so that maybe Brennan would just wake up and realize that she and Booth were meant to be together.

"Don't be. I didn't find him as attractive as I initially thought I would and he's already moved on." A hint of a smile played at her lips as she continued working on summarizing her notes from the latest set of remains that she'd identified from Limbo.

"Moved on?" Angela sure hadn't seen that coming quite this fast. How dare he move on so quickly, didn't the man have any decency to wallow for a while or pine for her? Brennan was a catch.

"He's seeing Dr. Briar." She finally looked up to see Angela who had a quizzical expression on her face. "In his words 'they hit it off', so I believe he's rather happy about it."

"Booth's Dr. Briar?" Angela was shocked. _This_ was a major development and why the hell hadn't she known about this before now? She seriously needed to pull her head out of newly-wedded bliss for a few minutes to pay attention to what was going on with her best friend.

"Booth isn't seeing her anymore. They broke things off." And Brennan had to admit that she was very glad that they had broken things off or she wouldn't had the courage to tell Booth that she wanted to give them a chance. Her smile brightened as she thought about the make out session that they'd shared that had only stopped because Parker had been in the next room.

"His boss put the moves on his woman?" Angela's voice had an indignant tone. Surely Booth couldn't be happy about it, the man had seemed to really like Catherine and if it wasn't bad enough that Hacker had been dating the woman Booth was destined for, he had to go after his second best too.

"Booth is okay with it. He said that he didn't think that it was going anywhere anyway and he seems perfectly happy with how things turned out." Of course she was perfectly happy too, although she reasoned that she would be even happier once she and Booth engaged in several rounds of intercourse.

Angela glanced at the flowers and noticed that there was no card. "So who are the flowers from then?" If they weren't from Hacker, then she most definitely wanted to know who they _were_ from. You just didn't send a woman red flowers without a whole lot of intent behind it unless you were a complete idiot.

"Booth." Brennan was still a little puzzled by the card that had come with them. Something about tulips and two lips and his lips and well, she was sure that it meant something about wanting to kiss her again very soon and that Parker was not going to be with him for the weekend. She could only surmised that he wanted to consummate their new relationship.

Angela's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "Booth?" Oh, she hoped that this meant what she thought it meant.

"Yes." Brennan smiled and then immediately wondered if she should have said anything. She and Booth hadn't really discussed it, but she thought that being discrete at work was probably appropriate. She would definitely need to clarify it with him.

"Booth Booth?" This was definitely going to call for a girls day with loads of shopping and lunch and some seriously good gossip about how all of this wonderful goodness transpired.

"There's just one Booth in his name." Brennan hoped that Angela was feeling okay, repeating herself could be a symptom of something serious.

"Yeah." Angela crossed her arms and a mischievous smile flickered across her face. "Spill, Sweetie."

Oh, so it seemed that Angela was just taken by surprise. Brennan was relieved. "Booth and I have decided to try a romantic relationship. Apparently he was very appreciative of my decision and decided to give me flowers to show his appreciation."

Angela laughed. "Show his appreciation, huh? Is that what they're calling it now." Yes, she was definitely going to have to whisk Brennan away to share some details. She'd been waiting for this moment for nearly six years and there was no way she wasn't going to get a front row seat.

"We haven't slept together." Why she felt suddenly shy about sharing that with her best friend she wasn't sure.

"Why?" Didn't she think that six years of foreplay was enough? All of that unresolved sexual tension was enough to make a priest hot and bothered.

"Parker was there last night and Booth didn't think it would be a good idea to engage in intercourse in case we were interrupted." As logical as that decision was, she found that she had been a little disappointed. She had imagined what it would be like to sleep with Booth more times than she could remember and she was looking forward to it very much.

"Well, yeah. When Booth takes you to bed, he's not going to want to let you out of it for days maybe even weeks." She couldn't hide her smirk, the fireworks when those two got together were going to be amazing. It would be a wonder if it didn't tilt the earth off of it's axis a little.

Brennan's cheeks tinged a light pink but she couldn't help but smile. "I would imagine that you are correct, but I look forward to quantifying the data myself." Oh, and quantify she would. She could tell from Booth's musculature that he would be a very enjoyable partner and if the glimpse she'd gotten when she'd walked in on him after his fake death had been revealed, he would more than satisfy her.

"Sweetie, just promise me that you won't talk like that when you two are doing the deed." Angela had completely forgotten why she had come into her office and now she didn't care.

"I'm very good in bed." Brennan had no doubts about her ability to please Booth and her sly smile seemed to convey that fact to Angela.

"Alright then. I'll let you get back to what you're doing there and I expect at least a few details." There was just something about the fact that her friends had finally woken up and gotten together that she didn't want to completely intrude. Only a little bit.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** This chapter is for mumrulz.

* * *

It had been a long week full of a case that didn't seem to want to give them a break, but it had nicely wrapped itself up with the arrest of a very viable suspect by Friday afternoon and so it seemed natural that they were going to have a little dinner together to celebrate.

Booth tapped softly on the door to Bones' apartment. A bottle of a nice Washington Syrah in hand, he didn't think he'd ever been quite this nervous to share a meal with his partner. Maybe because this meal wasn't just about sharing a meal. He knew that both of them fully expected that they were going to end up in bed together by the end of the night and he was beyond nervous about it.

Brennan felt a fluttering sensation in her stomach and a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth as she smoothed an invisible wrinkle from her blouse and went to answer the door. Her smile widened as she seemed to metaphorically melt into the brown eyes that twinkled at her. This was normal. Booth came over all of the time. This shouldn't feel different. Who was she kidding? Of course this felt different, she had the knowledge that there were no children sleeping in the adjacent room to interrupt the coming together that she'd been imagining for far longer then she cared to admit. "Hi, Booth."

"Hi, Bones." Booth shut the door behind him and then leaned in and kissed her softly as if he had being doing it for years and then as he pulled back he could feel that his grin was in full force as if emphasizing just how new all of this was. He held up the bottle. "I brought wine." He was really a beer kind of guy, but this was a special night and it deserved a nice wine.

"Oh, Syrah should go well with macaroni and cheese." She hadn't intended to tell him what she'd made for dinner, but she was sure by now that his olfactory senses had deciphered the lovely aroma wafting from the oven. "Thank you." Her smile was sincere and she felt that fluttering in her stomach again as she took the wine from him and brought it into the kitchen and set it on the counter. Hopefully that fluttering wasn't indicative of an impending stomach virus, but rather a reaction to Booth's proximity.

"Mac and cheese!" Oh how he loved this woman. "You're the best, Bones." A little mac and cheese, some wine, and then a little bit of loving. Okay, he planned on a lot of loving. In fact he wanted so much loving that when he walked into work on Monday he'd do it with a swagger and a smile that screamed that he was 'da man.

"I am the best in my field, but as far a cooking is concerned, I'm sure that there are any number of chefs that could easily be quantified as being better than me." Not that she couldn't focus for a time and perfect the dish, it just wasn't a priority. Especially not with her very own sexy FBI agent here for dinner.

"You're the best as far as I'm concerned." He nudged her elbow with his own as they stood next to each other in her kitchen. A sidelong glance caught her looking over at him and then they both started to laugh.

"I know that it's irrational, but I believe I'm nervous." It made absolutely no sense whatsoever. She was rather skilled in the bedroom, that was an established fact. However, she'd never been with Booth in the bedroom and she found that she was afraid that she wouldn't live up to his expectations.

"I am too." He snaked his arm around her and pressed a kiss against her forehead. "Let's just share some dinner and a bottle of wine and let things unfold the way their going to unfold. Okay?" He would have been more than happy to skip dinner in favor of devouring each other, but he wanted her to catch a glimpse of what making love was and he wanted to savor his first time with her. Besides, she had made him mac and cheese and that was a whole different kind of foreplay.

"Yes, some wine would be a very good idea." Brennan thought maybe a little wine would also help her shed some of her nerves and just relax and enjoy spending time with Booth. "The macaroni and cheese should be ready in a few minutes." She glanced up again to find him watching her. "I made a salad too."

"Let me guess, everything is organic." He smirked.

"Well I certainly wouldn't want your genitals to shrink now would I?" She smirked back.

Booth cleared his throat. "My goods are just fine thank you." And if there was any doubt at all, he was going to make that abundantly clear to her a little bit later.

She winked at him. "Well just to make sure they stay that way, we're eating organic."

He laughed and that seemed to lift the nervous tension from the room.

A short time later they were sitting at the table together sharing some wine and what Booth proclaimed was the best mac and cheese in the world. The conversation flowed freely and all of the banter that they were used to returned easily. It wasn't until their dinner was finished and they were sitting next to each other on the couch that the nerves seemed to return.

Brennan blurted out the words before she could consider that Booth would have preferred something ensconced in more romantic terminology. "Would you like to have intercourse?" Immediately she felt that swirling fluttering feeling again.

Booth reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze and brushing his thumb softly against the back of it as he looked deeply into her eyes. "Why don't we just dance a little." He pulled her off of the couch and pulled her with him toward the stereo which he hoped didn't have Turkish throat chanting or goat yodeling in the CD player. He was pleased when the strains of Harry Connick Jr.'s voice filled the room as he pulled her close. Yes, something nice and romantic was exactly what they needed right now as they began swaying softly, not really caring what the song was.

The feel of his arms around her waist seemed to soothe her nerves, and now all she wanted to do was kiss him. Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck, her fingers slipping softly through the hair at the nape of his neck as she leaned in and found that his lips were already looking for hers.

They swayed and spun and kissed, moving slowly down the hallway towards her bedroom, songs still drifting towards them and reminding them that this was what lovers did.

Brennan whispered against his lips. "You love me?" He'd said those words to her several times, but it still seemed unreal.

"I do. I love you so much." Booth smiled and rested his forehead against hers. "Do you want me to show you how much?" He wanted her so badly and he wanted her to know what it was like to be loved, to be so sure that she didn't have to question it.

"Yes." She didn't need to quantify it, she wanted to experience it and she pulled him with her into the bedroom until she found herself tumbling backwards onto the bed, Booth falling right along with her.

They might not break the laws of physics tonight, but they were certainly going to try.


	10. Chapter 10

Brennan hadn't slept in this late on a Saturday morning in a long time. A smile pulled at her lips as she considered exactly why she had been so tired in the first place. She stretched and as she blinked her eyes open she found that the source of her fatigue was looking at her with warm brown eyes.

"Hi, Bones." Booth couldn't stop grinning at the woman next to him in the bed. Last night had been beyond his expectations and he was glad that it hadn't all been a dream.

"Hi." She offered him a smile and then reached over and laced her fingers with his. "I believe that I may have been wrong about something."

He looked a bit panicked. Was she going to change her mind now? "Oh?" He have her fingers a little squeeze just in case she was going to run. Although, this was her apartment and he had a key - she couldn't run far.

Her smile slipped into a smirk. "While we may not have broken the laws of physics last night, I now believe that it is entirely possible that we will given time." The emotional connection that they shared had added a component to the experience that had taken it to a level she had never experienced before.

Booth let out a low chuckle and leaned in to softly kiss her. Oh, he could definitely get used to this. It might take forty or fifty years before the newness wore off, but this was the woman that he was meant to be with and he was glad that she finally agreed to trying a romantic relationship with him.

Oh, yes, now this was a nice way to be woken up by your partner. Soft warm kisses and gently roaming hands were far superior to phone calls or early morning knocks at the door - even if coffee was involved. Brennan mumbled against Booth's lips. "This is nice."

Booth yanked the covers over their heads as he answered. "Yes it is." He was fairly certain that there wasn't going to be any need to be getting up anytime soon, especially with the way that Bones was appreciating his assets.

* * *

The next time Brennan woke it was to the sound of someone knocking on her door. A quick glance over at her clock and she realized that it was almost noon. A smirk stole over her face as she noticed that Booth was just waking up too.

He mumbled as he felt her move to get out of bed. "They'll go away."

"That is doubtful." She considered that Angela was the most likely person right after Booth to show up at her door without calling first, and since Booth was laying right next to her, she was sure that Angela was stopping by for a shopping trip or some other female bonding ritual.

"I could go get rid of them." He did have a big gun after all and he wasn't afraid to use it.

"It's probably just Angela. I'll be right back." Brennan leaned over and kissed him softly before pulling herself out of bed and quickly wrapping herself up in her robe. Booth might enjoy the view, but she wasn't really interested in showing it to anyone else.

It wasn't Angela that she found at the door when she opened it.

"Hi, Honey." Max Keenan smiled brightly at his daughter who he appeared to have woken up. "You feeling okay?" It wasn't like her to not be up for hours already.

"Dad. I'm fine. What are you doing here?" She most certainly did not expect to have her father dropping by, but she closed the door behind him as he stepped inside and kissed her on the cheek.

"Can't a father just stop by to see his daughter once in a while? I thought you would have been up by now." Out of the corner of his eye he spied a jacket and a pair of shoes that had been kicked off near the couch that were most definitely not women's shoes. This would definitely explain her current attire and her mussed up hair.

"While I realize that it's unusual, I do sleep in now and then." She wasn't sure if she should tell her father that she and Booth were what Angela would refer to as an item.

"You have company." It wasn't a question, but a statement and as a father he felt like it was his duty to make sure that whatever man had stayed over was good enough for his Tempe. He glanced around to see if he could garner any further clues to the identity of the mystery man. He had half a mind to follow the guy around to make sure he didn't have some dark side that she didn't have any idea about.

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked directly at her father. "I'm an adult, Dad." She didn't need to justify her choices to her father.

"I know, Honey. Is he a good guy? Is he someone I would approve of?" He knew that he was treading on shaky ground by phrasing it that way.

"You're a criminal, Dad. I'm not sure that someone that you would approve of would be a good measurement." She was simply stating the truth, but she could tell that she had hurt his feelings by the expression on his face.

"Well, okay." He offered a soft smile. "Is he at least someone that Booth would approve of?" He knew that of anyone, Booth would be looking out for his little girl. He really would prefer that the two of them just wake up and realize that they were destined for each other.

She couldn't hide her smile as she considered that Booth would more than approve of the man waiting in her bed. Before she could say anything, a voice came from the other room.

"Hey, Bones, did you get rid of whoever was at the door?" Booth had gotten impatient waiting for her to come back, so he'd slipped on his boxers and decided to go in search of his woman instead. Who knew, maybe they could christen her couch too - he'd certainly dreamed about it often enough. Oooh, or there was the possibility of the dining room table.

Max's eyebrows shot up and then a big smile spread across his face as he looked at Tempe.

For her part, her cheeks tinged a little pink.

But Booth was really the one that was the most surprised as he noticed that Bones hadn't gotten rid of the door knocker at all. He tried to hide the squeak in his voice as he noticed who was standing there. "Max."

"Booth." Max gave him the best intimidating father look he could muster up, but he also couldn't hide the fact that he was very pleased with this particular turn of events.

"Dad." Brennan wasn't exactly sure what to say, it was evident that Booth was her company and given his state of dress, it was also evident that they had slept together. Although technically there had been far less sleeping than the phrase would imply.

"I've come at a bad time." Max grinned as he looked from Tempe to Booth and back again. "We can all do lunch sometime soon." He of course was going to grill Booth and make sure that he knew that FBI agent or not, if he hurt his little girl, he was going to have to watch over his shoulder for the rest of his life.

Brennan seemed to be the only one to have the presence of mind to say anything at that moment. "Yes, lunch sounds nice. Give me a call later this week."

Booth felt even more naked standing there in his boxers than if he'd walked out into the living room without a single stitch of clothing on. He glanced over at Bones and then at Max and wished that the hardwood floors would just swallow him up.

"Okay, I'll call you then." Max smiled as Tempe kissed him on the cheek. He glanced over at Booth and flashed him a smile with a hint of a 'don't you dare mess this up stare' and then turned and left as quickly as he came.

Neither one of them moved for a few second and then Brennan turned to take a good look at Booth and smirked as she admired his physique. "We'll have to get you a robe."

Booth couldn't have grinned wider if he'd wanted to. "I suppose we might." If she thought he needed a robe, well he guessed he was going to become a permanent fixture in her bedroom and he was definitely not going to complain.

"Although right now I would say that it's completely unnecessary." In fact she had half a mind to take him right back to bed, although the couch was closer.

He laughed and closed the distance between them, letting his arms slide around her waist. "I'm no so sure this robe is necessary either." He would have been very convincing too if it hadn't been for the very loud grumbling sound coming from his stomach.

"Why don't we eat something and then we can talk about a clothing optional environment?" She was all for a little more sex, but there was no need to starve themselves in the process.

He leaned in and kissed her softly, resting his forehead against hers as he pulled back and looked into her eyes. "Okay, but I have just the thing. If you have bread and eggs, I can make the most magical cinnamon sugar french toast that you've ever had and we may not have to eat again for the rest of the weekend."

"Food isn't magic." Clearly he was implying that the french toast would energize them enough to live on sex for the rest of the weekend, and perhaps he was right about that.

"Ah, but you also didn't believe that it was possible to break the laws of physics either." He winked at her and he knew he was going to win this argument.

"You may have a point. I will reserve judgement until all of the data is in." She let out a girlish laugh as he hugged her a little tighter and kissed her neck.

"Alright. Magic food first, then I get to have my way with you." Booth winked as he let her go to ravage her kitchen for the ingredients he'd need so he'd be able to ravage her later.

"Hey, what if I want to have my way with you?" Brennan didn't really care either way, she had Booth and Booth had her.

"Then I'll let you." Booth was sure that nothing was going to be able to wipe this grin off of his face for about the next forty or fifty years. After a little cinnamon toast, he was certain that she would never again question that the laws of physics had been obliterated.

_**The End**_

**Author's Note:** I thank all of you for sticking with me during this little story. I hope that you enjoyed it.


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